Sunday, March 14, 2010

Pi Day Pies

It's Pi Day. That deems worthy of a sacrifice. A pie sacrifice.

I haven't yet acquired a pie pan since moving to San Jose and the last pie I made was in one of those disposable tin pans that comes with pre-made dough. A Pi Day pie requires something better then store bought, mass produced dough. It requires dedication and love that only a homemade pie can deliver. Due to the inability to actually decide on a single pie filling, I came to the conclusion that several pies would needed. Just miniature versions. And, of course, one large one as well.

A trip to William-Sonama failed to produce the miniature pie pans I was hoping for, but I did manage to find mini deep dish pizza pans. Not only do I think they'll produce some fine pies, but I think I'll enjoy using them for their original purpose as well. Nothing like personal deep dish for dinner. Mm Mmmm.

Crust's first, as it takes some time to prep. Shaun had mentioned a vodka crust that did amazing things once baked. A quick search and I came across the recipe from Serious Eats for Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Dough. 30 minutes later, I had four mini crusts and 1 big crust all ready and in my fridge to chill. After they'd chilled for about an hour, I took one out and spread it into one of the mini pans. The dough was extremely sticky, and nearly impossible to work with. After much stretching and pulling, I managed to get all the pans somewhat covered with the dough. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but it would do the trick.

I originally planned to make each pie a different flavor, but I couldn't find a recipe I was happy with for each fruit. I eventually settled on the standards: Apple, Peach, and Strawberry. Two mini Apple pies, two mini Peach, and one large and oh so delicious Strawberry. Have I mentioned I live above a grocery store and that I love it? Because one sprint down the stairs and I soon had all the fruit I needed to make my pies: 4 apples, 4 peaches, and 3 baskets of giant strawberries. Each pie is based off of a recipe I found online. Mini Mansions Tea Room Glazed Strawberry Pie recipe from CDKitchen, minus the glaze, was the inspiration for the Strawberry Pie. Novel Eat's Mini Apple Pie and Pete Bakes!'s Peach Pie provided the fillings for the other pies.

Overall the pies didn't turn out half bad. There are definitely things I would change with the crust, as well as making sure I had enough for a proper lattice for each pie.. but overall, t'was a good Pie day. Even though I woke up sick the next morning and began my week of suffering...

About Me

I'm a geeky girl that's gone a bit knitty. With my corgi sidekick Ichi, I take on the world one adventure at a time. Sometimes I blog the adventures, sometimes I tweet them, and sometimes I write reviews about them (the tabletop kind, at least).